


Crystal snow

by Kittyismyotp



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Cause of the fire nation, Hakoda (Avatar) is a Good Parent, Homophobia, I mean it’s Zuko what do you expect?, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, I’m sorry I just love Hakoda being a dad to Zuko, M/M, Ozai (Avatar) Being a Terrible Parent, Ozai (Avatar) is an Asshole, Parental Hakoda (Avatar), Sharing Clothes, Sokka and Hakoda can provide that, Sokka learns how Zuko got his scar, Zuko (Avatar) Needs a Hug, Zuko is Hakoda’s kid and I will stand by that statement, and the South Pole is snowy hence crystal snow, cause Sokka and Zuko are dating and the fire nation has stupid opinions on that, in like a flashback scene, no it has nothing to do with the actual story I just like the name, none of the characters are homophobic it’s more just talked about, whatever why am I justifying my decision? Crystal snow is amazing and you should all listen to it, yes the title is a bts song
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-22
Updated: 2020-11-22
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:33:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,896
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27666836
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kittyismyotp/pseuds/Kittyismyotp
Summary: Zuko hates the cold, he really does. It seeps into his bones and makes the scar on his chest ache, but he can endure it since he gets to see SokkaInspired by @AaronIsATwinkie’s post “zukka concepts”
Relationships: Bato/Hakoda (Avatar), Hakoda & Zuko (Avatar), Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 20
Kudos: 127





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [AaronIsATwinkie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AaronIsATwinkie/gifts).



> This was originally just going to be one chapter of fluff where Zuko wore Sokka’s clothes but now it’s Zuko wears Sokka’s clothes, Dadkoda, Zukka tell Hakoda about their relationship and Zuko worrying as always.
> 
> Although some of that has to wait until chapter two, until then enjoy chapter one

Zuko shivered as he walked off his ship and into the deep snow of the South Pole, he wished he could use his breath of fire to warm his aching bones, but he didn’t want to scare the villagers with his bending, especially not when some of the villagers who were watching his arrival were young children, probably raised to be afraid of fire and anyone who wielded it, his family had already caused the water tribe so much fear and he refused to subject them to anymore.

So as he walked through the snow he merely pulled his too thin coat around him, clutching the hood over his tingling ears, his eyes darting back and forth over the villagers in search of a familiar face, more specifically for Sokka and he didn’t have to look long because Sokka was suddenly pushing through the congregated villagers and flying over to Zuko where he threw his arms around the firebender “Zuko!” He yelled as he tackled him, causing them to stumble back a few paces.

Zuko groaned at the sudden and slightly painful hug, but he smiled in spite of his discomfort and slid his arms around Sokka’s waist, holding him firmly and savoring the warmth that radiates from Sokka’s form.

Their moment ended when a chuckle sounded from beside them “Sokka I know you’re excited to see Zuko, but you need to let him breath” came a calming voice, their hug broke and Sokka turned to look at his dad “come on dad, I haven’t seen him in months” he complained.

Hakoda nodded and set his hand on his sons shoulder “exactly which means you need to give the rest of us some time to greet him” he said before stepping forward and replacing Sokka by pulling Zuko into another firm hug.

“Really Dad?” Sokka muttered, although the water tribe boy's words sounded annoyed he was still smiling, clearly not too upset about his hug being cut short.

“We’ve missed you kid” Hakoda whispered from above Zuko, a quiet moment that Zuko appreciated more than he could say, Hakoda had quickly accepted Zuko into his family, treating him as warmly as he did his own children and taking care of him like he was something as precious as Sokka and Katara. 

Zuko drew in a deep breath and smiled faintly into Hakoda’s shoulder “I’ve missed you too” he replied, squeezing his arms a bit tighter to punctuate his words.

Once again the moment was broken as Sokka pulled them apart and slung his arm over Zuko’s shoulders “alright moments over, let’s get inside” he cheered, moving towards their igloo, Hakoda laughing and staying behind to speak with the few crew members who had accompanied Zuko on his visit.

Zuko had never actually been inside Sokka’s home, the last time he had visited the southern water tribe was before the war ended, before he had realized that he was wrong and so he hadn’t been kind to the people of the tribe, in fact he had threatened Sokka’s grandmother, who he still needed to apologize to he realized.

They entered the icy building and Zuko found himself marveling slightly at the fact that it was warmer inside, it was still colder then he liked, but it was amazing how the ice somehow kept the heat inside. 

Sokka drew him over to a bed that was covered in multiple layers of furs, he allowed himself to be pulled down unceremoniously onto the bed and held onto by Sokka “do you have to hold me so tight? I’m going to be here for nearly a month, that’s plenty of time for you to smother me” he complained, but made no effort to push Sokka away.

Sokka snorted and somehow managed to pull him even closer, burying his nose in the crook of Zuko’s neck “shut up” he mumbled, “I’ve missed you and my dad interrupted our first hug” he said, pressing a gentle kiss on the warm exposed skin of Zuko’s neck as he spoke.

“Speaking of my dad” Sokka continued, “I was wondering if you were ready to tell him?” He asked, “about us I mean” he quirkily elaborated and sat up, now looking down on Zuko.

Zuko furrowed his brow and pulled his coat tighter, suddenly feeling the chill of the air once again “I don’t know, I mean I just got here and what if he’s angry? I can’t be here for weeks with your dad hating me” he said, looking away so he didn’t have to see Sokka’s blue eyes fill with sadness.

“Zuko we talked about this, if you don’t want to tell him yet it’s ok, but I promise my Dad couldn’t hate you, he loves you so much and I know he would be thrilled that we’re dating” Sokka tried to reassure him like he always did, reaching out and placing his hand gently against Zuko’s cheek “but we can worry about that later, you’re freezing” he commented, pulling back his hand and smiling at Zuko as he stood up and moved across the room.

Zuko sat up and looked down at his hands, he clenched his fist and hissed at the tingling sensation running along his fingers, the cold now seeping through his meager gloves and into his hands “I’ll be ok, I think I have some more clothes in a bag that one of the guards was carrying, but I don’t know how warm it would be and I don’t want to use my bending because-“ his rambling was cut off by Sokka throwing a thick piece of fabric in his face before he could reach full tangent.

Zuko jerked back and looked at Sokka reproachfully “don’t do that, you know I can’t see well” he grumbled and lifted the ball of fabric that now rested on his lap and examined it closely, quirkily deducing it was a parka much like the one Sokka was wearing now, made of thick cloth and animal fur, a fluffy hood that would completely engulf Zuko’s head.

Sokka had the decency to look slightly ashamed after Zuko’s repremeand “sorry, I forgot” he said, moving back over to sit beside Zuko once again “that will keep you warmer than anything the fire nation could have made, cause honestly you guys suck at making warm clothes” he laughed, holding out a pair of gloves as he spoke “I mean it’s not really surprising that you guys aren’t good at making winter clothes, the cold weather you have there isn’t even as cold as the hottest summer here” 

Zuko hummed softly and accepted the offered gloves “would it be ok for me to wear these things?” He asked, his fingers delicately tracing over the soft fur that lined almost the whole parka “I mean would it be disrespectful? My family has caused your tribe so much pain and destroyed so much of your culture, I don’t want to wear something that isn’t mine, something that my family almost destroyed”

Sokka smiled almost sadly and took Zuko’s hands in his own “Zuko it’s just clothes, it might be different if they were something sacred to us, but these are just my everyday clothes and you need to keep warm, I wouldn’t give them to you if I thought it would be disrespectful” he explained with a shrug of his shoulders “and also you don’t need to blame yourself so heavily for what my tribe has been through, yeah your family kinda sucks, but you don’t and you’re fixing things, you helped end the war”

Zuko lifted his head with a soft sigh and ran a hand through his hair, pushing the black strands away from his face “thanks Sokka, but I do need to take responsibility for my families actions and the damage they had on the world, on your tribe, I might not have directly started the war or been the one to send raids to your villages, but I contributed to the world's suffering and I'll be atoning for that until the day I die” 

Sokka seemed to take Zuko’s words in for a moment before he stood up “will you just put on the coat please, my Dad wants to take us hunting and there is no way I’m letting you leave in the clothes you have on now” 

Zuko hesitated for a moment longer before he nodded and stood up “turn around” he said, narrowing his eyes at Sokka as he gripped the hem of his coat.

Sokka rolled his eyes and turned away, grumbling loudly as he did “it’s not anything I haven’t seen before, I saw you shirtless before we even started dating and yet you act so modest” he complained, gesturing wildly with his hands as he spoke.

Zuko snorted and hurriedly pulled on the new clothes, frowning faintly as he tried to pull the bulky gloves onto his nearly numb fingers “I don’t need you staring at me while I change, it’s annoying and you always ask me to flex” he said, finally managing to pull the gloves over his hands “you can look now” he added absentmindedly, pulling the fluffy hood over his head and feeling relief as the warm material fell over his cold ears.

Sokka spluttered indignantly as he looked back at Zuko “I asked you to flex one time and it was a joke, but you won’t let that go, like it wasn’t that weird to say to my boyfriend who-“ he stops mid sentence and stares unabashedly at Zuko, his eyes wide and a sudden faint pink coloring his dark skin “who looks amazing in my clothes” he said, a lazy grin spreading across his face as he looked Zuko over.

Zuko opened and closed his mouth searching for a response, but only managed to stutter awkwardly at the compliment and look at his feet as he flushed a deep red, a few stray sparks flying from between his lips, brought on from pure embarrassment.

It had been a long time since Zuko had unintentionally created any form of fire, not since he was a small child who had hardly any control over his meager bending and now he was breathing sparks and it was all Sokka’s fault, because Sokka was smiling and complimenting him and Zuko was embarrassed.

He huffed and pushed through the embarrassment, walking past Sokka indignantly “shut up” he mumbled, glad that the hood kept his ears hidden, because he was sure they too would be blushing an equally bright shade of red as his cheeks.

Sokka laughed and hurried after Zuko, throwing his arm over his boyfriends shoulder and tugging the firebender into his side “no I don’t think I will shut up, I mean you just look so good, who would have thought the great fire lord could look so cute and cuddly?” He teased.

Zuko glared at the ground and swore under his breath “I’m not cute” he said, briefly lifting his head to cast a withering look at Sokka.

“I beg to differ, I’ve met lots of cute people in my life, Aang, Suki and even Toph can be cute sometimes, but you beat them all, nothing can come close to how cute you look in my clothes” he grinned, pulling on the fluffy hood “blue suits you” he added in a quieter voice, his eyes softening exponentially. 

Zuko couldn’t hold back the small smile that flashed over his lips as he heard Sokka’s words “thanks, I think I prefer red though, no offense” he said, stepping way so Sokka’s arm fell from his shoulder, he caught Sokka’s hand in his own and squeezed it as best he could with the thick gloves on his hands.

Sokka grinned and squeezed back as he pulled Zuko along, walking them both over to Hakoda who was speaking with Bato, Bato smiled at them and reached over to place a friendly hand on Zuko’s shoulder, gripping gently in greeting “nice outfit” he chuckled, letting his hand fall after his words.

The comment made Hakoda look around and he chuckled softly as he looked Zuko over “Yeah, you looked cold before and if you’re coming with us when we go hunting you need warm clothes” he agreed, once again pulling Zuko into a one arm hug, softer then the one he had received from Hakoda earlier, but it was still firm and warm “we’ll leave in about an hour” he told him and Sokka.

“You kids can help everyone prepare” Hakoda suggested as he placed a kiss to Zuko’s forehead before leaning over and doing the same to Sokka.

“Seriously Dad?” Sokka grunted and rubbed furiously at his head like the hiss had caused him pain “I understand kissing Zuko, you haven’t seen him in months, but come on you see my every day”

Zuko rolled his eyes and tuned out the sudden bickering, it didn’t make him cringe away like it used to, he knew now that it was just how Sokka and Hakoda were, they teased and bickered, but it was all in good fun.

The first time he had witnessed a similar situation he had almost thrown himself in front of Sokka, half expecting Hakoda to strike his child across the face, like Ozai used to do to him, but it hadn’t happened Zuko had been perplexed, it had baffled him, but now after so long of being around their bickering he knew it was nothing to fear.

Bato was the one to interrupt them, he cleared his throat and raised an eyebrow at Hakoda “as entertaining as this is we do have actual work to do Koda” he said, smiling in an exasperated manner

Hakoda sighed and nodded, letting go of Zuko and waving them off “go on, help everyone get ready” he told them.

Sokka nodded and grabbed Zuko by the sleeve, once again pulling him along “alright, I’ll show you what we do to prepare for hunting, it’s not that hard and it’s fun” he said, but Zuko was barely listening, he was just watching Sokka, watching the way his eyes shone in the bright light reflecting off the snowy, the way his cheeks were slightly flushed with the cold.

He smiled slightly to himself and let himself forget about any worries he had before, he could forget for just a little while, Sokka always seemed to make him forget.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would apologize for the amount of Dadkoda, but honestly I’m not sorry

Preparing for the hunting trip turned out to be a lot of sharpening weapons and collecting ropes, Zuko found he was clueless when it came to water tribe weapons, they were crafted differently from fire nation weapons and he found himself asking Sokka a variety of questions about the process of making them.

Sokka explained it all with a grin on his face, always happy to talk about weapons in any capacity, halfway through a long winded explanation about how the boomerang was hard to master Zuko zoned out and just stared, the faintest smile on his face as he nodded occasionally, his eyes flickering over Sokka’s face with a love struck expression, but who could blame him? When Sokka was talking so passionately and waving his hands around like a madman, he looked happy and Zuko always liked watching when Sokka was happy.

Sokka’s rant came to an end as Bato walked over to them and set a hand on Sokka’s shoulder, clearing his throat before speaking “we’ll be leaving in a few minutes Sokka, probably best to save the rest of that story for later” 

Sokka shrugged Bato’s hand from his shoulder and stood up, holding out a hand to help Zuko up as well “it wasn’t a story, I was explaining how difficult it is to get the trajectory on boomerangs just right” he said, pulling Zuko up as the fire bender tentatively grabbed his hand.

Bato let out an exasperated sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose “you are so much like your father” he muttered.

As if summoned by Bato’s words Hakoda appeared beside the three of them “we’re heading out now, Zuko you can stick with me and Sokka, since this is your first time hunting I don’t expect you to excel at it, so don’t worry if you don’t get the hang of it right away” he said firmly, fully aware of Zuko’s tendency to worry and panic if he couldn’t get things done just right.

Something else he had learned through years of Ozai’s influence, the desperate need to be perfect with the hope that maybe someone would care, it always made Hakoda’s heart ache when he saw Zuko striving for perfection in the littlest things, knowing that Zuko’s father had fanned that flame with the promise of love and acceptance, promises that were cruel lies, used to control a child.

Zuko drew in a slow breath and released it again, watching as it turned to steam in the freezing air, he looked at his feet and nodded “I’ll try” he whispered, looking back up to attempt a smile in Hakoda’s direction.

“Thank you son, that’s all I ask” he said, returning the smile before turning away, Sokka grabbed Zuko’s hand once again and pulled him along after his dad, leaving Bato to find another group of men to walk with as they hunted.

The hunt as it turned out was a lot of trudging through deep snow and crouching as they waited for something to actually attack, the cold wind was nipping at Zuko’s nose, but the rest of his body was kept amazingly warm by Sokka’s thick clothes.

“What exactly are we hunting?” Zuko tentatively asked as he looked around the snowy tundra, shielding his eyes from the bright glare of the sun reflecting off the snow.

“There are lots of different animals we hunt, but right now we’re looking for Buffalo yak, one of the men spotted a herd earlier today, so hopefully we can take one or two down” Hakoda explained, not even looking at Zuko as he spoke, instead he was scanning the horizon carefully, watching intently for any movement.

Zuko was about to open his mouth to ask another question when Sokka suddenly pointed and spoke “dad there” he said, Zuko followed the direction of Sokka’s hand, he squinted and shielded his eyes, struggling to see what Sokka had spotted, after a moment of searching he saw the several black and gray shapes moving slowly towards them, it was indeed a herd of Buffalo yak, lumbering along, unaware of the danger they were in.

Zuko must have missed some signal because Sokka and Hakoda were standing up and moving forward, staying low to the ground with their spears gripped tightly in their hands, Zuko swallows thickly and followed after them, trying his best to mimic their movements and they way they held their weapons, so different from the way he held fire nation spears.

Out of the corner of his eye he registered another group of the men who came from the village, they too must have spotted the herd and were unsurprisingly following Hakoda’s lead.

The men and the animals moved closer and closer, until Hakoda stopped abruptly, lifting his hand to single the others to stop as well, everyone froze in place, looking to the chief for further commands, but Hakoda stayed stock still, his eyes trained on the now near herd of Buffalo yak, Zuko didn’t even dare to let out a breath, his lips were clamped shut and his eyes were wide as they followed along with the massive beasts growing closer.

He was shocked at how huge they actually were, it appeared they were a little smaller than Komodo rhinos, but the large amount of fur they sported may have played into an illusion of mass, making them appear larger than they actually were.

He was so entranced that he once again didn’t notice when the others started to move, Hakoda gave a signal and then everyone was moving, quick as lightning spears left hands and flew through the air.

The spears landed, some falling short and sticking into the snow, but several hit their mark, the sharp points embedding themselves into the massive bodies, the Buffalo yaks that were hit stumbled and fell, crashing into the snow, while the uninjured quirkily ran, picking up speed and galloping through the snow at a speed much greater than before.

The men rushed forward, running to their fallen prey to check and make sure they were dead, Zuko pursed his lips and looked down at the spear still clutches loosely in his hand, he hadn’t even tried to throw it, he had been too caught up in simply admiring the animals that he had forgotten he was supposed to be participating.

Only a year or two ago that fact would have made his stomach curl with shame, because it would have meant he had failed, had shown disgusting weakness, but now as he looked between his spear and the men still gathering around their kills he didn’t feel that telltale twist of shame, embarrassment and disgust at himself and that made him smile the smallest bit.

Hakoda and Sokka would be proud of that, the fact that he had done well, not on the hunt, but on accepting the outcome and not spiraling into panic.

He let out a breath of air, walking over to Sokka who was helping a man that Zuko hadn’t meant, he stopped by Sokka’s side and tapped him on the shoulder “I forgot to throw it” he said, holding out the spear like evidence.

Sokka turned away from the man he was speaking to and looked back at Zuko in slight confusion “what?” He asked before he glanced down and saw the spear, he paused and blinked at it before looking at Zuko again “that’s ok” he said, “we got two down so we’ll still have plenty of food, don’t worry about it” he said, smiling and slinging his arm across Zuko’s shoulder.

“I wasn’t worried” Zuko responded, “surprising I know, but I actually feel ok, no existential dread” he muttered, watching as some of the men started to gather together, obviously getting ready to bring the dead animals back to the village.

“Aw really? I’ll miss the existential dread” Sokka said, sarcasm seeping into his words as he let go of Zuko’s shoulder to walk over and help collect the Buffalo Yak.

Zuko snorted and rolled his eyes, following after him as he spoke “oh don’t worry I doubt that’s the last you’ll see of my existential dread, in fact if you’ll miss it that much I can be sure to bring it back just for you” he responded, moving over to help Sokka with the work.

The journey back to the village was slow and tiring, dragging dead animals around was tiresome work, but eventually they walked back into the scattered groups of igloos, immediately those of the village who had stayed behind rushed forward to help, taking the burden from the hunters, leaving them to make their way home and rest.

Sokka let out a sigh of relief as he grabbed onto Zuko’s hand and pulled him once again towards his home “I know you probably just want to sleep, but unfortunately Dad and Bato want us to have dinner together” he said.

Zuko shrugged his shoulders and stumbled after Sokka into the house, watching as Sokka collapsed into bed and let out a groan “actually I’m fine with having dinner with them, I decided I’m ready to tell your dad about us”

Sokka sat up as quickly as he had collapsed, he looked up at Zuko and grinned “really?” He asked, his blue eyes blown wide in surprise.

Zuko hesitated for only a moment before he nodded “yeah, We can’t go on forever without him knowing, he’s bound to find out eventually and I would rather we told him ourselves than he figured it out” he said, pausing slightly before speaking again “and I know your dad cares about you a lot, but I guess I also realized he cares about me too”

Sokka nodded slowly and stood up, taking Zuko’s face in his hands and brushing his thumb along the rough outline of Zuko’s scar, the touch so gentle that Zuko almost couldn’t feel it.

He remembered the day he had told Sokka about his scar, it was shortly after they had started dating and the war ended, they had been lounging in Zuko’s bed, shrouded in sunlight and wrapped in mountains of blankets.

Sokka had traced his finger along Zuko’s scar than too, but at that time Zuko had jerked back, cowering away from the touch and looked away, ashamed of the way he had reacted, but Sokka hadn’t been annoyed, he had sat up and moved away from Zuko, giving him space before speaking “I’m sorry, I should have asked before touching you” 

Zuko had turned to look back at him and blinked in surprise “It’s ok, I shouldn't have reacted like that, you don’t have to ask my permission to touch me, I was just being stupid anyway” he had mumbled, sitting up as well and looking down at his lap.

Sokka had frowned and leaned heavily against the several pillows stacked behind him “Yes I do, just because we're dating doesn’t mean I have any right to touch you if you’re uncomfortable and you weren’t being stupid, I don’t know how you got your scar, but I know it must have been painful and it’s only natural to move away if someone touches you there” Sokka had explained, smiling sympathetically as he finished speaking.

Zuko had swallowed thickly and reached up to brush his fingers over the mottled skin of his eye “do you want to know?” He had asked, his voice so low he wasn’t sure if Sokka had even heard him.

But sure enough Sokka answered, leaning forward to meet Zuko’s eyes. “You don’t have to tell me that, I know it must be personal,” he said.

Zuko shrugged “everyone else knows and I would prefer I tell you myself, I don’t want you hearing it from some random courtier” He said.

Sokka had frowned, but nodded and gripped tightly onto a blanket, like he had known that what Zuko was about to say would make him angrier than almost anything in the world.

Zuko had drawn in a deep breath and spoke “it was my father” he said simply, pausing to gauge Sokka’s reaction.

Sokka surprisingly had kept his cool, he had gripped the blanket a slight bit tighter and his eyes had gone cold, but he hadn’t moved, so Zuko continued, he told the whole awful tale, from the war room where he had stood up as an idealistic thirteen year old child, to the arena where he had fallen to his knees and begged, had looked his father in the eyes and pleaded for mercy and gotten nothing but pain, he told Sokka of the mission he was given, the impossible search he had set out on and the way he had felt like each day he lost a bit more of his sanity, how he had wanted so badly to go home and be loved, that all his ideals had died in that arena as his face was mutilated and the crowd cheered.

When he had finished the story Sokka didn’t move or speak for a moment, he had simply stared at Zuko, that had gone on so long that Zuko was scared that Sokka was angry, but the fear was quirkily expelled when Sokka finally spoke “I love you” he had said “I love you and I am so sorry, I promise I’ll love you more than he ever could, I’ll love you forever and I hope you can love me forever as well”

Zuko had stared incredulously for a few seconds before he broke down in tears and threw his arms around Sokka, clutching onto him and crying against his shoulders, muttering quiet promises as Sokka held him back.

And now Zuko wouldn’t even flinch when Sokka touched his face, in fact he reveled in it, savoring the way Sokka’s fingers brushed against his marred face, undeterred by the disfigurement that for years Zuko had despised.

But now as the cold wind whistled outside the igloo Zuko found he didn’t hate the scar, how could he when Sokka was looking at it and him like that, with those wide blue eyes and star struck expression.

“Then we can tell him tonight” Sokka whispered into the silence, his eyes not leaving Zuko’s face as he spoke and Zuko smiled, nodding and closing his eyes, he knew it would be ok, Hakoda would be happy for them, he would probably look at them with the same pride and love that he always did.

The moment passed and Sokka stepped away, pulling Zuko down into bed with him “dinner isn’t for at least an hour, so until then we can rest, don’t even try to lie and say you aren’t tired, I know you are” he said.

Zuko sighed and rolled over, resting his cheek against Sokka’s chest “I wasn’t going to try, now hush and we can rest” he said, smiling into the soft material of Sokka’s shirt as he listened to the sound of Sokka’s heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so that’s chapter 2, what did you think?


End file.
